Coco Cay, Over Used, Or Not?

[broadwaybaby123]

I've been there 4 times since the rebuild and will be heading out shortly for my 5th time. That's not including the one time I was there before the construction, so I'd say I love it!

[JimInBuffalo]

We were there twice in the last month and each time we had an Oasis Class and a Vision Class ship in port. There was plenty of room for more people each time. The facilities are being well maintained and the staff is excellent. Got two Shack Crispy Chicken Sandwiches which were excellent. Don’t forget the funnel cakes!

We saw two NCL ships at their neighboring island. I had forgotten that they still need to tender into the island. That made me appreciate the dock we had. I haven’t had to tender into any port with RCL for as long as I can remember.

[A&L_Ont]

 

59 minutes ago, PompeySailor said:

No suites get beach club access included, all ships all classes No Bueno

You don’t even get it sailing in Star Class 

 

I wish they would include full suites, or at least Star Class.  

[Russ Lomas]

9 hours ago, Ret MP said:

All good points.  And if it wasn't for flying to Puerto Rico (I really prefer not to fly), that's exactly what I'd do.  

If we could get direct flights to Puerto Rico from a city close to us, I would almost exclusively do my Caribbean sailings from PR.  We love it there.  Unfortunately, most flights include long layovers for us.  We even paid double for a direct flight, only to have Air Canada cancel it and bump us to a long layover out of our way.

 

[Denversail]

4 minutes ago, A&L_Ont said:

 

 

I wish they would include full suites, or at least Star Class.  

I’m surprised they don’t for the amount people pay for the upper class suites. It should really be an all inclusive experience. I think the rooms are really nice but for me the perks can be a lot of the draw. When you are spending that kind of money it is for an experience not just extra leg room.

[Denversail]

3 minutes ago, Russ Lomas said:

If we could get direct flights to Puerto Rico from a city close to us, I would almost exclusively do my Caribbean sailings from PR.  We love it there.  Unfortunately, most flights include long layovers for us.  We even paid double for a direct flight, only to have Air Canada cancel it and bump us to a long layover out of our way.

 

I live in the US and I don’t recall flying direct there. I think we have usually connected in Florida. You can’t beat the SJ itineraries in the rest of the Caribbean. We have done the route multiple times. The south Caribbean in my opinion has the most beautiful islands in the Caribbean. It is worth the flight!

[PompeySailor]

3 minutes ago, Denversail said:

I’m surprised they don’t for the amount people pay for the upper class suites. It should really be an all inclusive experience. I think the rooms are really nice but for me the perks can be a lot of the draw. When you are spending that kind of money it is for an experience not just extra leg room.

I do agree with you, the all inclusive Royal Suite concept is not quite there yet

ICON, they might have it sorted by then

 

MSC do it for their Yacht Club suite guests, Ocean Cay YC private island within an island 🏝 

Happy Days!

[cruisin from florida]

On 2/7/2023 at 6:06 PM, Ret MP said:

 

3.  If you don't like Coco Cay, what are you going to do?

 

 

 

 

Just like Nassau... We stay on the ship and enjoy the emptier ship. We live in Florida three minutes from the beach. The cabanas are nice, but the prices have gone insane. Pay more for a cabana than it cost for the whole cruise? I don't think so.

[Ret MP]

2 minutes ago, cruisin from florida said:

Just like Nassau... We stay on the ship and enjoy the emptier ship. We live in Florida three minutes from the beach.

That is our future plan!  

[not-enough-cruising]

23 hours ago, Denversail said:

I live in the US and I don’t recall flying direct there. I think we have usually connected in Florida. You can’t beat the SJ itineraries in the rest of the Caribbean. We have done the route multiple times. The south Caribbean in my opinion has the most beautiful islands in the Caribbean. It is worth the flight!

We fly DFW-SJU direct non stop

[Mum2Mercury]

Random thoughts: 

- Yes, Royal plowed a ton of money into Coco Cay, and now they're hyping it to recoup that investment. 

- People seem to be fairly universal in their love for Coco Cay, so I'm not surprised Royal's trying to use it as much as possible.  As such, I don't think they're over-selling it; rather, I think they're giving people what they want.  

- If you call Royal and are put on hold, you'll get sick of hearing about Perfect Day. 

- I wish they'd build up Labadee in a similar way. 

- It really is a "perfect" beach day:  no need to arrange transportation to the beach, and if one member of your party wants to go back earlier, no problem.  Chairs, meals, drinks, towels are waiting for you -- no need to bring money or decide where you want to eat lunch.  Between the beaches and pool, they have a variety of options for the type of beach day you want.  You could allow your teens to wander without fear.  

On 2/7/2023 at 6:45 PM, taglovestocruise said:

... Highest daily price for a over the water cabana in 2022 was $1799,  peak prices in 2023 are expected to settle in at $2200 for a group of eight. 

I really wonder who's spending on those $$$ cabanas, etc.  

On 2/7/2023 at 6:56 PM, smokeybandit said:

I think Coco Cay gets tired after you've been there a couple times, but the frequent cruiser isn't who they're marketing it to.

I dunno.  I've heard people say, "This will be my 10th or 12th visit", and they didn't look disappointed. 

On 2/7/2023 at 7:27 PM, smokeybandit said:

They don't hype those other ports like they do Coco Cay though

Yeah, those islands bring in cruisers, but Royal doesn't get to keep ALL the profits from the day.  

On 2/8/2023 at 8:31 AM, sjb317 said:

We have been to Coco Cay at least 8 times since it became “Perfect Day.”  I tend to be a very cheap person😂, unless it is something I really want ... 

I'm very cheap too -- I'm nowhere close to poor, but I demand top value for every dollar that I allow to leave my hand.  I love Coco Cay, but I don't see any value in the private cabanas, etc.  Looks like a status thing to me.  

[Boz575]

On 2/7/2023 at 5:45 PM, taglovestocruise said:

Highest daily price for a over the water cabana in 2022 was $1799,  peak prices in 2023 are expected to settle in at $2200 for a group of eight. 

OTW cabana on my July sailing is $3499. CoCo Beach cabanas ($1999) and all other cabanas $1099) are sold out. Get back their investment indeed. 

[time4u2go]

27 minutes ago, Mum2Mercury said:

- I wish they'd build up Labadee in a similar way.

Lol I hope they don't! 

[Ocean Boy]

1 minute ago, time4u2go said:

Lol I hope they don't! 

Agree. However, I do wish they would improve the food options. People seem to like what Coco Cay has to offer. 

[cruisin from florida]

26 minutes ago, Boz575 said:

OTW cabana on my July sailing is $3499. CoCo Beach cabanas ($1999) and all other cabanas $1099) are sold out. Get back their investment indeed. 

Imagine how much it costs to "build" and staff a cabana versus a ship cabin. They are practically printing money at these prices. As a stockholder I'm glad they're making money... I just hope that cruise prices don't follow.

[time4u2go]

Just now, Ocean Boy said:

Agree. However, I do wish they would improve the food options. People seem to like what Coco Cay has to offer. 

I agree. 

 

I used to like Coco Cay more than Labadee because it felt more authentic. Then they made all of their changes and made it worse, in my opinion. 

[John&LaLa]

5 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

Agree. However, I do wish they would improve the food options. People seem to like what Coco Cay has to offer. 

 

Coco Cay food is very good, I enjoy stops there 😋 

[RD64]

1 hour ago, Mum2Mercury said:

Random thoughts: 

- Yes, Royal plowed a ton of money into Coco Cay, and now they're hyping it to recoup that investment. 

- People seem to be fairly universal in their love for Coco Cay, so I'm not surprised Royal's trying to use it as much as possible.  As such, I don't think they're over-selling it; rather, I think they're giving people what they want.  

- If you call Royal and are put on hold, you'll get sick of hearing about Perfect Day. 

- I wish they'd build up Labadee in a similar way. 

- It really is a "perfect" beach day:  no need to arrange transportation to the beach, and if one member of your party wants to go back earlier, no problem.  Chairs, meals, drinks, towels are waiting for you -- no need to bring money or decide where you want to eat lunch.  Between the beaches and pool, they have a variety of options for the type of beach day you want.  You could allow your teens to wander without fear.  

I really wonder who's spending on those $$$ cabanas, etc.  

I dunno.  I've heard people say, "This will be my 10th or 12th visit", and they didn't look disappointed. 

Yeah, those islands bring in cruisers, but Royal doesn't get to keep ALL the profits from the day.  

I'm very cheap too -- I'm nowhere close to poor, but I demand top value for every dollar that I allow to leave my hand.  I love Coco Cay, but I don't see any value in the private cabanas, etc.  Looks like a status thing to me.  

Apparently the same people that are booking that crazy three deck suite at a cost of $75k for the week - and already booked at 54% for 2024.

[VernRDH]

We were at Coco Cay today on Anthem. Only ship there. Windy day but nice temp and sunny blue skies. The ocean was cool, but the pool was COLD!  Went back to the ship to sit in the hot tub in the Solarium.

We have never paid for anything there, just don't see the need to, but to each their own. We have been there at least 8 times, both before the "perfecting" and after. I like it way more now and agree that the food options and the pool are huge plusses. We were in Labadee twice last year and did not enjoy it as much. 

We are at a point where destinations are not as important as just being away and relaxing. We are doing this same itinerary in October and again in February next year. 

 

[Russ Lomas]

On 2/8/2023 at 6:32 PM, Denversail said:

I live in the US and I don’t recall flying direct there. I think we have usually connected in Florida. You can’t beat the SJ itineraries in the rest of the Caribbean. We have done the route multiple times. The south Caribbean in my opinion has the most beautiful islands in the Caribbean. It is worth the flight!

We had direct flights from Toronto (until they changed it to a layover in Chicago)

[PhillyFan33579]

On 2/7/2023 at 6:06 PM, Ret MP said:

I just put in a search for an Oasis Class Cruise out of Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, or Orlando, in the months of April or May.  Without exception, every cruise that showed up had Coco Cay as part of the itinerary.  Could I have missed something?  Yes!  I feel that if I expand the filters to include all class ships, the vast majority of those would be going, too.  But, that's not the point.  I also read an article not too long ago that cruises out of Galveston will be adding more and more Coco Cay days to their itinerary. 

 

1.  Is RCCL over selling/utilizing the island in your opinion? 

2.  If you are one of those that really like Coco Cay, and you cruise often out of the east coast and Galveston, do you think you will get tired of Coco Cay?

3.  If you don't like Coco Cay, what are you going to do?

 

 

 

 

I don’t mean to sound harsh, but this is one of the dumbest comments I have read on CC in awhile. RCI spent a lot of money to upgrade CC and the vast majority of Caribbean cruises include CC. If you don’t like CC, your cruises on RCI are very limited in the Caribbean. 

[vjmatty]

On 2/8/2023 at 6:44 PM, cruisin from florida said:

The cabanas are nice, but the prices have gone insane. Pay more for a cabana than it cost for the whole cruise? I don't think so.

 

Some sailings I think it costs more to rent one of those cabanas than to build one.

[vjmatty]

13 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

I don’t mean to sound harsh, but this is one of the dumbest comments I have read on CC in awhile. RCI spent a lot of money to upgrade CC and the vast majority of Caribbean cruises include CC. If you don’t like CC, your cruises on RCI are very limited in the Caribbean. 

 

If this is you not wanting to sound harsh, I can only imagine what you would have said without restraint.  Given that the questions the OP asked have generated three pages of kind and friendly responses, minus one, it would appear not to be so dumb.  Several have said they are tired of Coco Cay and there are varied opinions on it as evidenced by this thread.

[PhillyFan33579]

3 minutes ago, vjmatty said:

 

If this is you not wanting to sound harsh, I can only imagine what you would have said without restraint.  Given that the questions the OP asked have generated three pages of kind and friendly responses, minus one, it would appear not to be so dumb.  Several have said they are tired of Coco Cay and there are varied opinions on it as evidenced by this thread.

My comment could have been stated better. However, I believe, maybe incorrectly, that most posters here are familiar with RCI. RCI has been very clear that Coco Cay is a big part of their marketing strategy and accordingly they are going to use the island as much as possible. They are expanding the island with an adult only area that is supposed to open later this year, so you are going to see even more ships going to Coco Cay. The bottom line is if you don’t like Coco Cay, stay on the ship and enjoy a less crowded environment (with the casino open) or if you like to get off the ship at every port, go on another cruise line when cruising in the Caribbean. 

[The Fun Researcher]

Coco cay and Labadie are always two of our favorite stops. Like previous posters have said, it is just an easy beach day. No transportation plans needed to get to Coco cay and Labadie.   Like previous posters have said, it is just an easy beach.  easy access back to the ship if you want, no, paying for lounge chairs, food is included…